


The Little Merman

by SilverKitsune



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Alternate Universe, I think you can guess which fairytale I chose given the title, In which I mix the Disney and Hans Christian Andersen versions, M/M, along with some other romance tropes I love that I haven't had a chance to use yet, fairytale AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 12:05:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9656762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverKitsune/pseuds/SilverKitsune
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a merman who fell in love with a human prince.  This is a collection of various events in their lives, of them falling in love, all so they could always be together forever.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This Disney/Hans Christian Andersen/plus-a-few-more-tropes-of-my-choosing Little Mermaid AU originally started because of an ask received over on [zesty-zestiria](http://zesty-zestiria.tumblr.com/post/156867393149/an-au-about-i-dont-know-what-if-they-found)on Tumblr. I volunteered to answer it, and the next thing I knew, [toradhart](http://toradhart.tumblr.com/post/157059419912/so-i-scribbled-it-soymilkheaven-s-disneys-the) drew some lovely fanart for it, including Merman Mikleo performing Ariel's "I Want" song, Part Of Your World. (Really, go click on that link for toradhart's art, it's wonderful and hilarious and really you should go see it!) Now, I think a lot of us can agree that it's basically Mikleo's image song especially when it comes to his I'm-A-Seraph-But-Sorey's-A-Human complex in the early/mid game.
> 
> Chapters won't be in any real order, as I don't actually have a full-fledged story planned, but more just little scenes I kept on seeing in my head as I was writing up that AU post, and decided to drabble out into very very short ficlets. Instead of going straight to the end, like I did in that post, I'll start with the moment they actually first see each other. Also, this scene was the reason I went with Mikleo's long-haired look for this fic, instead of his short haired in-game version. Yes, I did that _just_ so I could work in this gag from the Disney version. but painted in a super romantic light.

Mikleo surfaced, carefully checking the beach to make sure it was completely abandoned.  Gramps had told him he should never surface in the sight humans, but the beach was always so beautiful, and he always loved looking at the, the – what had Zaveid called it again? Oh right, _castle_ – castle up on the cliff.  The bright flickering red-orange lights, so different from the blues and whites he was used to seeing in the ocean, captivated him.

Seeing it abandoned, he hoisted himself up onto the rock, splashing his tail in the waves below as he pulled out a fork – one of many in his collection, thanks to Zaveid and Dezel telling him where all the best shipwrecks were.  Little by little he started working his way through his hair from the bottom up – Zaveid had very specifically told him this was how humans took care of their hair.

Gently working his way through the tangles, he watched the castle lights, humming an elegant tune of dancing water and crashing waves as he worked his way through his long, white-blue hair.

* * *

Sorey grinned, glad to be free of the constraints of the court and his title, as he climbed his way down to the beach.  As Prince, there was always _something_ that demanded his attention, and it was nice to be able to just walk away and enjoy being himself for a little while.  Rose, he was sure, would figure out he’d run off in the night (again) and would give him an earful later.  But that -

He turned his head at the sound of a lovely voice humming a tune, just audible enough over the sounds of the waves.  A playful, yet majestic tune, one that seemed to evoke the very water crashing into the rocks around him.  Searching in the moonlight, he spotted … someone? Something? Perched on a rock near the shallows.  Long, flowing silver-blue hair caught his attention as it nearly glowed in the moonlight, and as he followed it down, he caught glimpses of pale skin … before catching sight of the fish tail at their hips.

A merperson then.

He watched them for a little while longer, waiting to see if his presence had been noticed, noting how they were (curiously) combing their hair … with a fork?  He took a step forward eager to try to talk to them (maybe forks had a different use with merpeople?), but the sound of his footsteps in the sand startled the creature, and they turned and spotted him before quickly diving back into the water.

But not before he caught a glimpse of sparkling amethyst eyes and a brilliant blue tail the color of the ocean.

He waited a few moments longer scanning the rocks and the waves, but when they never surfaced, he turned around to trek back up to the castle.

* * *

From behind the rock, Mikleo watched the human walk away with a huge sigh of relief, even as he noted the disappointment in the human’s posture.  Still, they didn’t shout or try to attack him, and that was enough to make him wonder if he might be able to see them again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ending/epilogue, set in the distant future, as I'd envisioned it. The [original](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid) Andersen tale is actually pretty depressing, as not only does the little mermaid not get the prince, she dies. But hey, this is Soymilk, and Mikleo is Sorey's One And Only in every AU/fic I'll ever write, so of course, they get a happily ever after . . . of sorts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, the meanings of the flowers chosen near the end:
> 
> Pink Carnation – I’ll Never Forget You  
> Red Chrysanthemum – I Love You  
> Daffodil - Regard, Unequalled Love, You’re the Only One, The Sun is Always Shining When I’m with You  
> Forget-Me-Not - True Love, Memories  
> Marigold - Cruelty, Grief, Jealousy (Grief is the intended meaning here)  
> Orange Blossom - Innocence, Eternal Love, Marriage and Fruitfulness (Eternal Love is the one I’d chosen it for)  
> Primrose - I Can’t Live without You  
> Dark Crimson Rose - Mourning

When Prince Sorey died at the positively ripe old age of 95, people across the country mourned.  He had been a great king, a wise and fair leader, and had done much to ensure the prosperity of his people.  His funeral had been a grand affair - Mikleo, as Chief Consort, had seen to that.  In keeping with Sorey’s final wishes, while a token gravestone was erected in the royal family graveyard, his body was interred on a cliff overlooking the sea, the beautiful ocean that was the homeland of his one and only.

A pair of dark crimson roses flanked the gravestone, while the hill itself was positively smothered in pink carnations, red chrysanthemums, daffodils, forget-me-nots, primroses, and marigolds.  At the foot of the hill, a small grove of orange trees marked the entryway to the beloved prince’s true final resting place.

Mikleo knelt in front of that gravestone now, looking barely a day older since the day they’d met - Zenrus was powerful, yes, but even his magic had only been enough to grant Mikleo the legs and the ability to breathe air so he could live outside of the ocean, beside his beloved.  His hands brushed against the gravestone, and tears came to his eyes, unbidden.  A pair of seagulls landed beside him, eyes full of worry.

“Was this what Gramps was trying to warn me about?”

“Mikleo … man, we’re-”

“That I’d only get a short amount of time with him?”

He laid down in the grass, among the flowers, each one flourishing, despite their getting watered only by the occasional rain shower and his own tears.  A gentle wind rustled across the hills, rustling his hair and cloak.  Hair that Sorey had played with many a quiet evening in their shared chambers.  Tears continued to fall - just how many days had it been since he’d last heard Sorey’s laughter?  Seen his bright green eyes that never dulled, even as he grew into a wizened old man?  That smile that never failed to brighten his day?

He fell asleep, lying amidst the flowers in the field, each one a tiny fraction of the feelings he held for the human he loved so, so, dearly in life.

* * *

Zaveid turned as Dezel returned, Lailah perched on his back.  She looked sadly at Mikleo, at the snow-white and blue hair that was in stark contrast to the dark cloak he woe, knowing that his happiness had a great cost attached to it.  She wished, with all her heart, that something more could be done - that, even though Mikleo was a magical sea creature, he could have happiness with Sorey beyond death.

She sighed, “I wish there was something more we could do for him.  Lord Zenrus’s magic is powerful, yes, but to grant a soul, that’s …”

A bright white light came into being in front of them then, stopping to hover over the gravestone.  Mikleo stirred, and sat upright, a hand in front of his face to shield his eyes from the brightness.  The being seemingly had no form, although if Lailah squinted hard enough, she thought she could make out a pair of leathery wings.

“Young prince of the seas,” the voice intoned, “I have watched you from afar for many years.  Your love for this human, and your desire to be with him always, and his reciprocation of those very feelings, has touched us all in the heavens.  To grant you a soul … that requires magics beyond even my ability, but should you wish to _earn_ one, that, perhaps, we could arrange.”

For the first time in the months since Sorey’s passing, Lailah thought she saw the glimmer of hope and the beginnings of a smile on Mikleo’s face.  Wiping away his tears he bowed his head, as though in prayer, a single question falling from his lips.

“What would you have me do?”

* * *

Three hundred years later, Mikleo opened his eyes to find himself on a hillside, no longer a benevolent spirit of the seas, but human once more.  Examining himself, he noticed a single red string tied around his finger, and he followed it along the path, where he saw a familiar and beloved face sitting on a rock in front of a strange wheel.

“Sorey!”  Mikleo ran, arms spread wide and melting in to the firm embrace of the one he’d loved so dearly for so long.

“MIkleo!”  There was no mistaking the voice, or the way his shoulder was quickly become moist with tears.  “I missed you.”

“Me, too.”  They held each other for what seemed like an eternity, and perhaps it was.  When they finally parted, Mikleo looked up at the giant water wheel turning in the sky behind them.  “What is this place?”

“This is the Wheel of Reincarnation,” Sorey explained.  “Where you go to be reborn.  But, when I saw the red string on my finger, I’d prayed, hoped, even, that you would be on the other end. So I waited.  Waited, so we could go together.”

“Then let us go now.  Together.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since I had Part Of Your World stuck in my head all day today, and that part where it goes, "What's a fire and/why does it/what's the word?/buuuu~rn" kept on looping in my head, have a ficlet about the first time Sorey shows Mikleo a candle (in a candleholder)
> 
> Also known as, someone stop me, I need to stop writing from Sorey's head because my god all that purple prose is going to be the end of me some day.
> 
> I'm pretty sure my inner Edna was gagging/snarking at how sappily romantic this all is, lol.

The first time he showed Mikleo fire in the form of a lit candle, Sorey is immediately enchanted – Mikleo is cradling the candleholder in his elegant hands, face nearly pressed up against the glass enclosure.  The gentle candlelight danced across his features, adding a gentle golden glow to his pale skin, and his violet eyes sparkle even more than they did before.  His circlet peeks out, glinting in the light from behind candlight-kissed hair.  He tilts the contraption to and fro as confusion crosses his face – no matter what he does, the flame continues to point straight up, as melted wax dribbles all around the glass.

“This,” Mikleo said as he continued to tip and turn the candleholder, “is amazing! I never thought it could be like this!  Or this warm!”

Sorey laughed, “Well be careful, if you hold it like that for too long you might burn yourself.”

Mikleo immediately sobered, “Like what almost happened to you on the ship that night?”

“Yes.”

“So it's dangerous then.  Why use it?”

“Because it lets us see, and it gives us warmth.  We humans can't see in the dark as well as merpeople can.”

“That makes sense then, why you would need to use this to help you see.”  Mikleo set down the candleholder onto the table, his eyes still sparkling with curiosity even as he watched it.  “But it won't,” he paused, as though to search for the right word, “burn the, what did you call this?”

Sorey smiled, “A candleholder.”

“Candleholder?”

Sorey shook his head.  “The flame from the candle doesn't get hot enough to melt the glass or the metal.  So we use it to block the wind which might blow out the fire, and to make sure we don't accidentally set other things on fire.

“But you know what the best part of this is?”  Sorey walked over to the bookshelf, returning with his favorite book – a collection of autobiographical stories written by a famous adventurer. “It lets you read at night, even when the moon isn't shining brightly enough to read by.”

He held the tome out to Mikleo, whose smile widened as he took the book and read the title on the cover.

 _But the absolute best part,_ Sorey thinks, _is how beautiful you look in it._


End file.
